PHOTO: Brooklyn's Former Starlite Lounge Now a Metro PCS Store

Welcome to Metro PCS. Can we take your order?

For more than 40 years, the location at 1086 Bergen Street in Brooklyn's Crown Heights was home to the Starlite Lounge, the first Black-owned gay bar in New York City and one of the oldest Black gay bars in the United States. Starlite closed last summer following the sale of its building.

From a rite of passage for many black LGBT New Yorkers to selling pre-paid mobiles and yet "another soulless storefront devoid of its past life," adds Brownstoner.

Thanks MARK S.

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Comments

[elektrick.red]

Such a slap in the face...

[macwell]

You are correct eletrik.red....It's a shame...

[Rodney B]

well you know, as sad as it is that a piece of our history is gone, we can't neglect the fact that even though we ran/owned the bar, we didn't own the building where the bar was located. That my friends is the problem.

if we don't own the building which houses our "landmarks" then seeing a METRO PCS or any other store in its place will continue to happen.

Prime example is Chi Chiz. Now I know for a fact its was run unprofessionally but if we had at least owned the building, we could have booted out the owners and found more competent people to run it.

We as a people can easily throw away money at petty sh*t like cars, clothes, phones (all that depreciate) but don't recognize the value in owning property especially commercial property.

WAKE UP BROTHERS AND SISTERS!!!

[Face and Waist]

Thanks Macwell and Elektrik. I had so many wonderful nights in that bar. So many.

[Trey]

I don't know if anyone is listening, but Rodney B is on point!!! That's the problem with us as black gays, or black people period! There's power in ownership....as we should all know very well anyway as our ancestors were owned by whites.

We have got to start putting ourselves in a position to play hard ball. The whites have been doing it for years. We can hold marches and boycott, but they still have the upper hand in many cases because they are the owners. It's all a matter of putting our money in things that make sense for the long term.